Ease it
by leila-blue
Summary: Don't be such a wimp, Bya. What's the big deal? You're invited, you go." Dinner with Renji and his friends. Byakuya feeling out of place. Super-hot dip. A nice evening? RenjixByakuya


Hey :)

I read a super-awesome Bya/Ren fic a few days ago, and since then I haven't been able to get those two out of my head, so I had to write this...

Disclaimer:

** I don't own bleach or its characters.**

Please enjoy :D

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Before he knocked, Byakuya critically looked down himself. The band-t-shirt and dark jeans he had been forced to wear were too juvenile for his tastes, in fact, the shirt wasn't even his.

He didn't really know how he was supposed to show up to this dinner with friends Renji had invited him to. His sister would be there, too, but he hadn't dared calling her to find out, after all she had a family of her own now and he didn't want to butt in.

Voices from inside the apartment could be heard. Renji was quarreling with Ichigo, as usual, and Byakuya thought he heard Renji's roommate, Hisagi, throw in a few comments every once in a while.

Byakuya wasn't sure if he was even welcome amongst all these young people Renji and Rukia called friends. It was possible that Renji had just asked him to be polite, expecting that he would decline anyway. He hadn't, not exactly anyway. He had said he wasn't sure if he had time and that he'd think about it.

Maybe they had already started eating, because they didn't even consider that he might come. He'd be an additional guest they weren't prepared for and didn't need.

"Don't be such a wimp, Bya. What's the big deal? You're invited, you go. You know you want to", Yoruichi had said, pushing a bundle of clothes into his hands and shoving him into the bathroom. "Take a shower and get dressed, you don't want to be late, right?"

Since it obviously didn't matter what he wanted, he had complied, however grudgingly.

Afterwards, Yoruichi had done something with his hair and sprayed a little of her new perfume on him.

"I smell like a woman", he had complained.

"Don't worry. Loverboy will love it."

"Excuse me?!"

Yoruichi winked at him. "You know who I'm talking about. And now go, or you'll be late."

Byakuya had just sighed, grabbed his things and was about to leave.

"Bya-bo! Remember: Have fun!" He hadn't bothered to answer.

Byakuya shook his head to get the annoying woman out of his head. It was enough that she was always hanging around his home.

He raised his hand to check if his hair was in place, before he finally knocked. A few moments passed, then he tried again, louder.

"I think there's someone at the door!", he heard Hisagi's girlfriend yell through the noise in the apartment.

"Who is it? Is it Byakuya? I'll get the door!"

The door was thrown open and Byakuya took a careful step back. Renji was standing in the doorway and seemed genuinely happy to see him.

"Hi, Byakuya. Glad you could make it", he grinned and Byakuya nodded, trying to look self confident.

"Thank you for your invitation."

Rukia appeared next to Renji, shoving him out of the way.

"Let him in, you big oaf!", she nagged, then extended her arms to hug her brother.

"Hello, Nii-sama. I'm so glad to see you again. How have you been?"

Not quite sure how he was supposed to return the embrace, he awkwardly patted her back.

"You look great, Rukia. How are the twins?", he asked while pulling off his shoes. Rukia took his arm and led him into the cramped apartment.

"They've grown so much! Isshin is babysitting them tonight. You should come visit us sometime, Ichigo built a slide for them in the garden. By the way, about the robot-dog you sent for their birthday. It's all they play with all day long, thank you so much, they really like it!"

Byakuya turned around to see Renji following them, looking a little disgruntled. When their eyes met though, Renji grinned again and Byakuya quickly turned his head back around. Just in time, it turned out. While Rukia was pulling him by his arm, he had almost run into the door frame to the living room.

"Byakuya!" He could barely register two slender arms being thrown around his neck before his face was buried in two overly large breasts and he was struggling to breathe.

"Ran", Hisagi said warningly and Byakuya was let go.

"Chill, Hon, I'm just messing with him."

"Hey, nice having you here. We weren't sure if you'd come."

Byakuya stopped smoothing out his hair, tousled from the attack, to shake hands with Hisagi. Rangiku stood next to her lover and nodded.

"Yeah, Renji was agitated as hell." She winked.

"Really?" Byakuya looked around for the man Rangiku was just telling on.

"You have no idea", Hisagi confirmed.

Byakuya found Renji at the table, moving plates, bowls and glasses around until everything fit onto the small surface. He looked good, Byakuya noted, different than usual, not as... garish. He also wore his intriguing crimson hair in a braid and his everyday sunglasses were replaced by a silken bandana.

Renji bent down to pick up a knife that had fallen onto the carpet and Byakuya's eyes widened as he watched Renji's sliding pants reveal more and more of his boxers.

"Yo, brother-in-law."

The whisper right next to his ear jerked Byakuya's head away from Renji to his side, where Ichigo stood and grinned at him like the idiot he was.

"Checking out his ass?"

Ichigo's smirking increased with the redness of Byakuya's ears.

"I was not."

"Of course not."

Byakuya glared at him. How his sister could marry such an imbecile was beyond him. He could count himself lucky because Rukia loved him, otherwise Byakuya would have killed him a long time ago.

"Wanna know what's for dinner?", Ichigo asked and Byakuya was glad for the change of topic.

"Yes", he replied and tried to make out was was in the bowls on the table.

"Sexy-little-Renji-roast!" With that Ichigo took off, roaring with laughter.

"Bastard", Byakuya cursed under his breath and touched his burning ears. The dinner hadn't even started yet, and he already regretted coming. "I'll kill you, damn woman!"

Maybe he could just sneak out before anyone noticed...

His gaze fell onto Rukia who was sitting at the table now, chatting with Rangiku, her hand gently entwined with Ichigo's. He hadn't seen her in so long. He called for birthdays and Christmas and sent presents, but since she moved together with Ichigo and got the twins, he didn't feel he belonged into her life anymore.

Hisagi sat down next to Rangiku and they exchanged a quick kiss. Suddenly feeling disgruntled, Byakuya turned away. He needed to take a breather.

Safely locked into the bathroom, he sat down at the edge of the bathtub and stretched out his legs. They felt stiff and tired, they felt old. He glanced at himself in the mirror.

What was he doing here? Next to those kids he felt like a hundred years old. Ichigo was barely adult, as were Rukia and Renji. What was he thinking? The hairstyle, the perfume, the clothes, it all was a big joke.

"Byakuya, you in there?" Hisagi's muted voice interrupted his depressing thoughts.

To get the lump out of his throat Byakuya swallowed twice before answering. "Yes."

"Dinner's ready, are you finished in there?"

"Yes, thank you. I'll be out in a moment."

After listening if Hisagi would go on ahead without him, which he didn't, Byakuya opened the door without further delay.

He looked at Hisagi and tried a smile. "Let's go."

They made their way through the corridor to the living room, but before they could enter, Hisagi blocked the doorway.

"And Byakuya."

"Yes?"

"Loosen up and have some fun. I know being teased isn't always nice, but we all like you here, even Ichigo. When we say something, it's for fun, to make you smile, not to hurt you."

"I- Alright. Thanks."

Hisagi nodded and went ahead.

As soon as Byakuya entered the living room, he saw Renji waving at him. "Sit here, Byakuya!" He pointed at the seat next to him.

He nodded and took place. Food was already served, it seemed they all had been waiting for him.

"Sorry for taking so long. You didn't have to wait", he said, feeling not only a little ashamed for his childish behavior. Who was the kid here? Rukia and Ichigo, who lovingly took care of two children? Not really, Byakuya realized. It was him, who had overthought things again and freaked out. He was surrounded with people he knew and liked, cheerful chatting and laughter. What was he complaining about?

"Enjoy your meal, Nii-sama", Rukia, who was sitting in front of him, said and he smiled at her.

"You too, Rukia."

"Dig in, Byakuya. It's edible, I didn't even cut the veggies, I swear", Renji joked and Byakuya, against his usual behavior, had to laugh.

"How reassuring. I wouldn't have minded dying of food-poisoning, though. I got old enough."

"How are you in any way old, Byakuya?!", Rangiku yelled from across the table. "Have you seen how many wrinkles I have? I wish I had your baby skin!"

Byakuya frowned and tilted his head to the side.

"I have to say, I see a few wrinkles", Ichigo grinned and reached out to touch the spot between Byakuya's eyebrows. "It's all the frowning he does."

"Look who's talking."

The dinner was a swirl of friendly jokes, laughter and good-natured teasing. Byakuya hardly got to try the food, a steak, that was truly mouth-watering, although he suspected that Rangiku had poured some kind of hard liquor into the sauce, which added to wine that was served with the food.

Renji kept looking at him, smiling and joking with him and offering him more and more food. Feeling a little intoxicated without really having drunk that much, Byakuya soon didn't know what was going on anymore. His head spun – in a really pleasant way, and with Renji pressing his leg against his, he thought his ears weren't the only things burning.

After everyone had finished eating Hisagi and the girls took it upon themselves to clear the table and get snacks for the following round of relaxing in front of the TV.

Byakuya managed to excuse himself to the bathroom to clear his head a little. He quickly washed his hands and face and smiled gently at the sounds coming from the living room.

When he returned, everyone had already taken seat on the couch and floor, armed with pillows and blankets, ready to spend the night in whatever position they were in, should they fall asleep.

Rukia had snuggled up with Ichigo on the floor, half buried under all the comforters they had spread around themselves. Rangiku was sitting in Hisagis lap on an armchair.

Renji seemed to have the whole sofa to himself and Byakuya already wanted to frown at the unfairness as Renji waved at him again. "Sit here!"

Byakuya felt every pair of eyes in the room on him as he made his way to the couch. His ears felt hot as he tried to figure out what was being expected of him. Did Renji hope he was going to sit in his lap like Hisagi and Rangiku? He didn't think so. But how close would Renji want? And how close would Byakuya dare?

The decision was made for him as he tried to step over Ichigo and Rukia on the floor and Ichigo grabbed his ankle. With a (very manly) cry Byakuya stumbled and fell face-forward into Renji's lap.

When he opened his eyes he found himself face to face with Renji's crotch. Like a lightning he shot up, ears burning and stuttering apologies, while Ichigo was howling in malicious joy. Practically shaking in embarrassment Byakuya sat down at the far end of the couch.

"Must be a dream come true, man, Byakuya's pretty face between your legs?", Ichigo jeered and promptly got kicked.

"Ouch, what the hell?!"

"You asshole." Renji turned towards Byakuya. "Come on, forget about that idiot. You don't have to sit over there. Do you even see the TV?"

Byakuya couldn't trust himself to meet Renji's eyes yet, so he stared at his socks and nodded. "I can see fine, thank you."

Even Ichigo stopped laughing. "Sorry, Byakuya, didn't mean to scare you, alright?"

"It's fine."

Rangiku, always the one to fill uncomfortable silences, reached behind her and grabbed a bag of chips and two small bowls of dip.

"Pass this one to Renji, it's the wimp-dip, since can't eat spicy stuff."

"Haha, very funny", Renji muttered, obviously in a bad mood.

"And this one is the devil's dip. I heard someone died eating it. It's super-hot. You like hot, right, Byakuya?"

He did, actually, so he looked up and nodded. "Yes."

"Let's get the DVD started then", Rangiku suggested and someone pressed play. Nobody really bothered to watch though, everyone had to try the dip that could kill people.

Rangiku was first. She dipped the potato chip deep into the sauce then, put in between her front teeth. Hisagi got the hint and bit off half, then they simultaneously chewed and swallowed. And reached for the chips to ease the burning sensation the dip had caused.

"Holy fuck, this stuff is hell! Where'd you get this shit, Ran?", Hisagi breathed, after coughing a few times. His girlfriend wasn't quite ready to talk yet. She was rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

"Damn. Gimme that bowl", Ichigo ordered. Both he and Rukia ate a chip with dip and ended up coughing and crying, while trying to breathe.

"I think the story that someone died is totally true!", Rukia exclaimed after she had calmed down.

The bowl and bag of chips was passed to Byakuya, who just lifted an eyebrow before tasting. Everyone waited for the sure-to-come coughing and wheezing, but Byakuya kept a straight face and swallowed. Then he smiled. "It's tasty."

The group gaped.

"As expected from Nii-sama!", Rukia beamed proudly. "Super-hot isn't even hot enough for him!"

Nobody really noticed when Renji grabbed the bowl and took a chip.

"It can't be that bad. Byakuya even likes it", he said, more to himself than anything else. He tightly closed his eyes, took a deep breath and shoved the chip into his mouth.

At first nothing happened. Then Renji opened his mouth and his face turned red like a tomato.

"WATER!", he screamed and raced into the kitchen.

"No Renji! I just spreads the taste!", Hisagi practically threw Rangiku off his lap to run after Renji and stop him. "Drink milk or eat something!"

Byakuya, Ichigo, Rukia and Rangiku sat still in shock and looked at each other.

"That oaf", Rukia whispered and Ichigo shook his head. Rangiku reached for the wimp-dip and grabbed a few chips.

"This might take a while", she said and turned towards the TV. "Might as well get on with the movie."

It didn't take that long. Renji had calmed down fairly quickly and came staggering back into the living room. Hisagi followed after him and reclaimed his seat in the armchair.

"No way, Byakuya. No way you like that. It's like acid, I swear, burns away your throat." Renji let himself fall onto the couch next to Byakuya, a lot closer this time.

"You sissy. That certainly didn't impress him", Rangiku grumbled, quite displeased because of all the ruckus.

"Shut up, booby", Renji grinned lazily and stretched.

Shielding his face with his arms against Renjis extended limbs he fleetingly wondered who wasn't impressed, but was startled out of his thoughts when his shirt was yanked and was looking upwards into Renjis eyes.

"Hey. Is this okay?"

His head was resting on Renji's thigh, his legs were swung over the arm rest of the long sofa and although startled, Byakuya felt content with his position.

"Yes", he breathed.

"Comfy?" Byakuya moved his legs a bit, then nodded.

"Good."

And with Ichigo and Rukia on the floor, Hisagi and Rangiku in the armchair and Renji and Byakuya on the couch, the movie never got the attention he deserved.

Not that any of them cared.

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Oh man, I really want a Sexy-little-Renji-roast right now... xD

I haven't written anything in a while, so I'd appreciate if you guys told me if you liked this...

Thanks for reading :)


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